Carta, a $3.1B Silicon Valley startup that helps private companies manage equity, will roll out a private share-trading market called CartaX in January, the company said this week.

Why should we care?
CartaX solves the problem faced by startups and employees who hold equity shares they either want to trade or sell. This has fueled the growth of private secondary markets. On CartaX, investors will be able to bid on shares offered by employees and other stockholders, with Carta taking a 1% cut from both buyers and sellers. The alternative trading system is called a “dark pool” because it’s subject to less regulatory oversight than public exchanges. Despite its potential, the platform has drawn some criticism. Andrea Walne, the former head of liquidity solutions at Carta, told the Financial Times that it seemed like CartaX was solving problems that did not exist in secondary markets.